


Luna Professor

by N8schatten



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Luna University (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23617351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N8schatten/pseuds/N8schatten
Summary: "He saved my life, you know. He was there when I needed him, always when I needed him the most. It was almost like he knew when things got bad for me. I just wish I could have said goodbye. That's the one thing I regret. We never got to say goodbye."River Song hated Christmas lectures, but she loved a good mystery.Funny how the universe worked, because the physics Professor Arthur W. Smith seems to be just that, a mystery. Especially for River.
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor/River Song, The Doctor/River Song, Twelfth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 29
Kudos: 56





	1. Christmas Lecture

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is my first Doctor Who story and no I don't want pity. If anyone finds grammar mistakes, please tell me. English is not my first language and I want to learn.  
> Anyway have fun with this.

River Song never wanted to visit any Christmas lectures again, not after last year. She had gone to see who the professor for the archaeology lectures would be. It had been boring and the teacher was an idiot, but then again, compared to her most teachers were. River sighed and tried to ignore the physics professor, who talked complete bullshit. She really wished, the Doctor would rescue her like last year, to bring her home to London for Christmas dinner with her parents.  
She really didn’t want to be here, but one girl of her study group had dragged her here and now it was to late to leave. River sighed and crossed her arms. She wanted to go home. Or at least away, Sontarans would be nice…

“Rubbish!” River’s head shot up at the angry exclamation. A man in a black hoodie stormed onto the stage and grabbed the chalk from the teacher’s hand. “Complete rubbish!” he growled and with one sweep of his arm he erased the equation from the black board. “Get back to your classroom if all you want to teach them is rubbish!” The man growled and glared at the other teacher. “But NOT in my lecture hall!” The girl - Lucy?- next to River giggled and River reluctantly turned her head to look at her. Lucy grinned. “Professor Arthur W. Smith, this is his lecture hall. He is a legend, every year, they try to let somebody else do the Christmas lecture here, but in the end he always takes over.” River turned back to the front of the room and watched as the idiot left the room. Smith continued to stare until the door closed, then he huffed, nodded and turned to the room.

“Sorry for that idiot, really can't have you all turn into pudding brains, just because one idiot can't teach.” River snorted and eyed him closer. With his wild gray locks he looked a little bit like Albert Einstein, but his eyebrows gave him something, River couldn’t describe. Almost something familiar, but then again he sounded like her mother, with his Scottish gruff. She grinned, a Scottish physicist, this had to be good.  
“Now let’s see if we can still save your minds.” 

Twenty minutes later the whole lecture hall had understood. River stared at the blackboard with disbelief. That guy had just explained one hell of an equation to students who didn’t even study physics. Looking over to one of the guys of her study group -Dave- who was absolute rubbish at math, confirmed to her that he to have understood. If the look of absolute wonder was counting. River turned her head back to focus on the professor and leaned forward. Let’s see how good he really was. 

Oh, he was good. Really, really good. River grinned shaking her head slowly, as the guy explained more and more complicated stuff to his audience in way to easy terms. At the moment he explained a problem that was part of the tenth-semester curriculum. River snorted as she realised, that it was something the Doctor always did wrong, while flying the TARDIS. How mummy dearest hated him for it. “SO” Smith turned in a way to energetic for a Scotsman and a nearly maniac grin. “What’s the answer?” Nobody dared to move as muscle. River smirked. “Oh come on!” Smith looked absolutely disappointed and pointed at his students in the first few rows.  
“This is what you do every day. You have to know this. Someone, please… You” He pointed at a green skinned alien. They shook their head in panic. “No? You?” The humanoid girl two rows higher shook her head with the same panic. Smith’s hands dropped and he looked at his students with a betrayed look. “I really thought you…” River’s grin widened as the voice of her Doctor blared the answer louder in her head. Demanding she tell the man. “Reverse the polarity and divide the gravity of the planet by four. If the result isn’t between 3.75 and 7.893 then the experiment is failed. If this happens during active flight, well… buckle up and hope for the best!” Every head in the hall turned in her direction and her friends stared at her with open mouths. Smith blinked at her while his eyebrows did a thing of their own. At first they knit together until he looked like a grumpy owl, just to jump to his hair in the next moment. He looked ridicules, but somehow the surprise mixed with joy, made him look like a small child on Christmas Day.  
“YES, exactly!” He twirled and within seconds her answer was on the blackboard. River chuckled over the enthusiasm the man showed, it was quite sweet. As he twirled again, he looked confused. One eyebrow was in a perfect arc while the other one nearly swallowed his eye. “Are you new?” he asked as he stepped closer. Pointing with the chalk in his hand at her. He continued before her. “Tenth semester? I never get the names of those straight.” The last part was more to himself, but River heard it anyway and her grin grew even bigger. “Second semester, archaeology”  
River snorted at the way his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened comically. He continued staring at her for a long moment. As he turned again to wipe the blackboard, an older student turned to her. “I hope you‘re good, because this will be brutal.” River grinned wider. 

Brutal ended up being the most fun she had since, the last time the Doctor had visited. Professor Smiths focus laid solemnly on her and with every passing minute the questions got more and more bizarre. River never faltered or stopped to think about what he said. Her brains, for the first time in months, worked overtime. She was calculating five things at once, all the while processing the questions Smith drew on her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she still produced snarky comments to throw at the man. Smith too never faltered and shoots the comments right back, always with the next question. It was like a tennis match with how the heads of the other students turned from one side to the other.  
The lecture was nearly over when he asked: “First hundred digits of Pi” 

River was so surprised with the question she jerked back fast enough to slam into the back of her chair with a loud bang. Half of the hall jumped at the noise, but River just starred at the man dumfounded. “What?” Smith grinned. “First hundred digits of Pi.” He repeated and rose an eyebrow as if to ask for her defeat. River just continued starring. She was absolutely caught off guard by the question and he brains literally weren’t able to process the question. Several students looked at her with rather smug expressions, but River didn’t care, she tried to focus. It was the small noise Smith made before he turned, sad and disappointed that jolted Rivers brains back into focus. Professor Smith walked back to the blackboard taking, but River didn’t listen. It was just a dump question, but it had hit her just at the right moment and the right place and River was absolutely furious about her reaction. Within seconds her brains were back working.

“3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679“

A small part of her brains noticed who with every number more and more jaws dropped, but she only saw Smiths face. Slowly, ever so slowly a huge grin formed on his face. It looked completely different that the one he had shown before. It lit up his whole face, with pride and happiness and somehow it made her hearts stutter.  
As she finally stopped after the hundred digit River took a deep breath and rose a questioning eyebrow. Silently asking if there was another question. Smith only smiled at her. “What was the name?” His voice was ruff and if she had been somebody else, she probably would blush.  
“Song” She said instead. “River Song” The man nodded slowly. “Not bad Miss Song. Sure you want to be a grave robber?” She never got the chance to answer or react in any way, because at that moment the bell rung and everybody jumped up. Smith disappeared, within seconds and River was distracted, by her friends who questioned her all at once. Upon entering the hallway, it was Lucy, who asked: “Where the hell did you learn all this?” River snorted and thought about the insults, the TARDIS threw at the Doctor, all the time. “I grew up on a spaceship. You’re bound to pick a few things up, if you mother is the head engineer and screams thinks like this at the captain, permanently.” Dave looked at her with a funny expression. “Why would she do that?”  
River smiled softly as she thought about the Doctor and how he could NOT fly his ship. “Because the idiot can’t fly.”  
Somebody behind her snorted.


	2. Hallway Bullies

River didn’tget much time to think about Professor Arthur Smith. Mostly, because she had to do her homework and assignments, after meeting up with the Doctor. Gosh, this man couldn’t drive to save his live! Bless his soul, but somebody please help the TARDIS. Poor mummy. River chuckled and shifted her books, so she could hold them more comfortably. Lucy next to her, chattered happily on about nothing in particular. Dave on her other side was absorbed into a newly released game. River herself thought about the adventure she had had during the previous night. The Doctor had showed up around two am, together with her parents and had her help them find Amy's wedding ring. It had been stolen, by some alien in the 35th century. It was all fun and games until the Sonarans showed up. With Amy's ring in their fat little hands. River smirked as she thought about her shooting lesson. Oh how the Doctor had spluttered, but in the end he hadn’t said much, because Amy had gotten her Ring back. Amy herself got to shoot one or two Sontaran, while Rory had to make sure, that she didn’t got hit herself. 

River grinned and carefully checked her weapons. 

  
It was the sudden screaming that shook them all out of their bubble. River’s left hand curled around the knife hidden in her sleeve immediately, but as they rounded the corner of the hallway, she relaxed. Only two students in an argument. River eyed the situation more closely. One of them, the one screaming was a rather big green humanoid, a Knw’a probably male from the looks. The other one was a smaller blue alien, Nighgi, and it took River a second to translate the slurs the Knw’a threw at the Nighgi. Then her brain caught up. Those two belonged to species that just had started a war against each other. If River remembered it correctly, then they had it long coming, something about territory and religion. River rolled her eyes, as the insults got more and more ridiculous. Dave next to her shook his head. “I mean… I knew they were assholes, but that?” He pointed at the scene in front of them. “Just more proof that the Knw’a are idiots.” River snorted. If she remembered it right, the Knw’a would loose the war in about five years and would have to submit to the Nighgi. 

A sudden bang startled River enough to draw her knife. The Knw’a had hit the clay model the Nighgi had been holding out of their hands, and the small house had sshattered into hundreds of little pieces. River jolted again as a sudden slap rung through the air. The Nighgi just starred eyes huge and full of red tears. They where holding their cheek and a small whimper echoed through the hall. Silence stretched, as the Knw’a continued it’s ranting. Poking the Nighgi repeatedly in the chest making them visibly uncomfortable. River felt anger rising, but before she could do as much as take a step forward, somebody rushed past her. 

A figure in a black hoodie pushed trough the masses of bystanders. The anger radiated from his eyebrows and whiting seconds the crowed parted like the red sea. Professor Smith stepped between the Knw’a and the Nighgi and growled at the Knw’a in their mother tongue. River felt her jaw drop as Smith not only spoke without any accent, but he growled at the Knw’a, whose face fell more and more with every word. From what River understood Smith reminded the Knw’a of their codex and how they just violated their own honour well as that of their family and ancestors. The Nighgi still looked spooked, but they no longer looked like they eared for their life. 

  
“Now shut your stupid mouth and go to your head of department.” Smith glared at the Knw’a, eyebrows furrowed. “And if I don’t find you there when I get there, you bloody hope, they taught you well in that fucking war of yours, so you survive me.” Somehow the guy looked absolutely terrifying, even in his hoody and Dr Martens. River watched as the Knw’a turned tail and ran as if his life depended on it. The glare in Smith’s face disappeared so fast River felt dizzy. As he turned, he looked at the Nighgi with a face that reminded River of the Doctor around small children. “

You’re alright?” Smith looked at the alien in front of him and made a face. “Dump question, sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry at all, but River had other problems. Who the hell was that guy? He just jumped from the original mother tongue of the Knw’a to Common, just to assure the Nighgi in their mother tongue. She definitely needed to look him up.   
Smith smiled carefully at the Nighgi and awkwardly patted their shoulder, before he bent down, to collect the parts of the destroyed model. Several other students rushed forward to help Smith and the man nodded sharply at them. One other student lifted the Nighgi’s bag and handed it to them, but Smith grabbed it from the student and lifted it on his own shoulder. The Nighgi just stared. Smiths face softened. “Come now lad, let’s get you to the nurse, better to let her see that.” River wasn’t sure if Smith was speaking in Common, or not, but she smiled at the softness in Smith’s voice. He reminded her of Amy, when she was in mother mode. Smith gingerly placed a hand on the Nighgi’s back and nudged them along. River was the first of her friends to make space for the two. 

As they came, closer River was able to see, the handprint of the Knw’a on the Nighgi’s face. The bruise already started turned white. As they passed Smith locked eyes with her for a second before his gaze travelled down for a moment. His eyebrows rose and he shot her a questioning, but kind of amused look. It took River a few seconds to realise, that her knife was still in her hand. She pushed it back into its sheath and stared after Smith and the Nighgi.   
Who the hell was the guy?


	3. Hallway Bullies

Open Stage was one of the most famous clubs on Luna. Everyone had been in there at least once. River was well acquainted with Open Stage. She had been here at least three times with her parents and several times more with the Doctor. He really was a bad dancer, but he made up for it, with his lack of caring. Today was a special day. It was open stage night and everyone was here. 

It was a Luna tradition, that at the end of every semester, there was an open stage night. There would be songs performed. Poetry and plays recited and from what River heard, there was at least one fistfight. 

The thing that made this night so special was that even the teachers took part in it. You didn’t need to step on the stage, but you had to be there. From what River had seen so far. The professors had taken over a corner of the bar and parts of the VIP area, but also mingled with the students. With a smile River shoved Dave to the left to let a waitress pass. The girl smiled a half-hearted and stressed grin at River and pushed into the crowd. 

“Oh my god is that Professor Gwn?” Lucy’s voice was already wavering, and River shot her a look before she followed Lucy’s gaze to the stage. Their history professor Gwn, an older humanoid male just climbed the stage and started to sing a song. Absolutely off-key. River groaned and put her hand over her ears. 

Sometimes it was really bad to be part Time Lord. Luckily for River, most of the people in the room thought like her and the man was quickly dragged off the stage. A young girl took his place and started to sing an earth song, River remembered. At least this one could sing. River leaned back against the bar and hummed along. Dave next to her nodded with the beat and Lucy openly sang with the girl. 

As the song ended, the girl started another one and this time there was commotion on the dance floor. As the crowd shifted, River got a glimpse of a dancing couple. If River was right, it would be the Professors Sophie and Sam Jones. A married couple that taught at different faculties, Sophie as an art professor and Sam in the literature department. Both women were rather well liked and very much in love.

River watched them dancing a perfect foxtrot and wished for the Doctor. He would step on her feet and she would need to lead, but they would have fun. 

Everyone clapped for the singer and the two professors and another artist stepped on the stage. This one recited Shakespeare, or at least they tried too. River frowned and closed her eyes, as she pushed the urge down to shoot at the idiot. That certainly wasn’t from Hamlet. 

“Gosh is that bad.” One of Lucy’s friends said and they all hummed along. They were archaeologists, believe it or not, but in the 52nd century Shakespeare was part of their curriculum. 

Time went by and around her people got more and more drunk. They danced and talked. Poetry and music filled the room, and River just enjoyed the evening. 

“Oi, Song.” A drunken slur got her attention and River turned to face one of her classmates. Big asshole, if somebody would ask for her opinion. River just smiled and took a step back. The group around her stared at the guy warily. 

“How ‘bout, we sing?” River just stared at him blandly. The guy grinned.

“Mean, it’s ya name, isn’t it?” He tried to grab for her, and River sidestepped him again. “O common. Ya must sing! Ya name is Song!” River rolled her eyes. “No.” She said simply. 

“I will not sing.” The guy just looked at her dumbfounded until he repeated his word again. Dave behind her signed. “Look man, piss of. River said no, so accept it, before you make fool of yourself.” River was well aware that none of her friends would step in if something happens, because they had seen where that ended. So River just crossed her arms and glared. The guy didn’t get it, instead he glared at her. Face twisted into an angry grimace. 

“Fucking whore.” He growled and stepped once again closer. River let her hand fall to the gun beneath her skirt. “Ya should…” A tall figure stepped between them and River blinked in surprise. She stared at the back of the black hoody for a long moment until she realised that it wasn’t just Smith who had come to interfere. One of the sport science professors stood behind the guy, with an amused grin, as the guy ranted. 

Two other professors stood behind their group. River shifted to see Smith's face and saw him looking rather amused with the insults. One of his eyebrows was lifted in question and altogether he looked utterly unimpressed. 

“Your done now?” He asked, as the drunken guy took a breath. “Because you get a chance. Just this one. Leave them alone or get kicked out.” The answer was a fist. The professor behind the guy, reacted immediately. He grabbed the guy and one of the security guards stepped in. 

“So Arthur.” One of the professors behind them said. His voice danced with amusement and victory. “You own me one of those whiskeys.” Smith just rolled his eyes and glared at the ceiling. 

“Yes, Peter” He scoffed and turned. He glared at them all. “Alright?” 

They all grinned, and one of the other professors signalled the bartender. “One round of drunken assholes!” “What?” Smith grinned at them and sat down. “We have something like this every time.” Peter explained, he too had sat down. 

“We bet on the time, by the way.” He said grinning. “Smith never wins” River saw Smith rolling his eyes again.” Because it happens every year, we step in before something happens.” Smith said as they all got their drinks. “Have a system with the owner. Every harassment means free drinks, for those who are harassed and those who stop it.” River stared at her drink. That was thoughtful and sweet. The doctor would like that. Her dad would too. 

They drank in silence until Lucy started talking with Peter about what he taught. Smith commented on everything. Peter shot back every comment with a grin. “You two know each other?” River asked, as they both grinned at each other. “Yup!” Peter said and drowned his drink. “That’s exactly why you never will get my whiskey!” Smith growled and glared at the other man. 

“You don’t drink the damn stuff. You drown it like it is water!” Peter ignored the man. “I was his grand student about thirty years ago.” River blinked and turned to Smith. “Since when exactly do you teach here?” She asked and her friends leaned forward. Smith shrugged. “Seventy years?” It sounded more like a question and River starred. No way that the guy was in his nineties! 

“Listen up everyone!” The voice of the moderator made them turn in unison. “To everyone who had been on the stage, great show, but now it’s time for the big acts!” The crowded sheared and River noticed how Peter grinned at Smith. The moderator made a big flourish gesture and announced. 

“TEACHER TIME!” 

The crowd went wild. “Sorry, guys” Peter said and grinned. “We have to go” None of them got time to protest, before the two of them disappeared into the crowd. “Holy shit, how old is Smith?” River just shrugged. “That, Dave, I like to know myself.” A more pressing thought was WHAT was Smith? Until now River had thought he would be human, but apparently…

The professors had a system. Music and theater professors went first, then the linguists and literature profs. Those who had to be good at this, started. After that, well…

They all starred at one of the maths professors as he rapped his way through one of the hardest rap-songs in existence. Somewhere along the way River started laughing so hard, she cried. One of the engineers silenced the whole room with a brilliant poetry slam and then there was the teachers band. 

Four of them. The bassist was from the biochemical faculty so was the drummer. The pianist was a botanist and the guitarist and singer, a geologist. “I never thought they meant hard rock literally.” 

River snorted and bobbed her head with a grin as she sang along to Highway to hell. Later on she was on the dance floor and danced and sung as the whole club was filled with Bohemian Rhapsody and It’s a kind of magic. 

“This was brilliant!” River gasped breathlessly as she slumped over the bar and ordered a new drink. “I never knew you liked Rock!” One of her friends said and Rivers grin widened, as she thought about a dark-haired, black dressed version of herself. She simply shrugged with a grin. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen and all in between. It’s time!” The moderator had stepped back onto the stage and behind him a curtain was lowered. 

“For everyone who spilled the beans for younger students, HOW DARE YOU?!” 

The moderator looked absolutely pissed for a second and he glared pointedly in a certain direction. Then in the blink of an eye his grin returned. “For everyone else, enjoy the midlife crisis and the heart attacks!” 

River just blinked and shared a look with Lucy and Dave. Really? What could be so good or bad that it would cause heart attacks? As if on a clue, it probably was, there was the sound of an e-guitar. It took her a second or two, but in the end she recognised the song. “Holy shit,” Dave breathed. “is that Beethoven?” River hummed. “His fifth.” She said and then the curtain rose. The first thing to see was a pair of Doc Martens, taping with the beat. That alone made River pause, because… Doc Martens and black slacks? She knew that combination and… Rivers' thoughts stopped for a very long moment as she stared at the hands that basically flew over the strings and the neck of the guitar. 

Callused, wrinkled hand that where way to skilful. Somebody to her left made a strangled sound and Rivers eyes flew up. No hoody, but a pristine white button down with rolled up sleeves. River didn’t realise she was gawking until Lucy started shouting. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” River just let out a shocked laugh as she starred at Professor Arthur W. Smith who quite literally rocked Beethoven's 5th symphony. “Nobody will believe that!” Dave mumbled and drowned his drink. River blinked and after a moment she chuckled. She leaned back and observed the man. He was completely engulfed in his play and there was a faint, gentle smile on his lips. His head was bobbing slightly with the beat and in perfect sync with his foot. 

He looked relaxed and perfectly comfortable where he was sitting on a barstool. River squinted at him and realised that he had his eyes closed. He knew the song enough that he could perform it by memory. River shook her head. She so needed to look this guy up! 

Later… now she would enjoy the show. It ended in a way that was way too dramatic, but hell, that guy owned every bit of it. He ended in a deep bow and a lopsided smile. River grinned and cheered with the older students. Her friends, true to the moderators' words, had a small crisis. 

The crowd fell silent again as Smith sat down and somebody brought him a microphone. He took his time to adjust everything and then, without a word or a warning he started to sing. 

Everybody loves the things you do.

From the way you talk.

To the way you move.

River felt the Goosebumps immediately. The feelings washed over her like ice water. Her hands shook and for a moment River wasn’t able to breath. There was so much pain and longing in his voice and whenever Smith raised his eyes from the guitar, his eyes were filled with pain and grief. It was almost as if he was projecting his emotions into the room, for everybody to feel. River blinked rapidly as she tried to push the tears down. 

She wouldn’t cry! She was River Song and she wouldn’t cry over somebody else lost. 

It's hard to admit that

Everything just takes me back

To when you were there

To when you were there

And a part of me keeps holding on

Just in case it hasn't gone

I guess I still care

Do you still care?

River felt like somebody just had punched her and she let a single tear fall. Whoever this person was, Smith sang for he loved them desperately and they were gone for a very long time. 

As the song ended, the silence in the club continued. River was pretty sure she could hear some people sniffing and sobbing, but those sounds were minor. Her eyes were fixed on Smith. He sat still like a statue on his barstool. His eyes closed and somehow he looked utterly lost. A lump formed in her throat, because sitting there, lost and heartbroken the professor looked extremely like the Doctor. Way too old and with so much on his shoulders. 

River started to clap slowly, her eyes focused on Smith. Within seconds the whole club was clapping with her. Paying respect to a man who lost more than they could think of. River felt tears once again in her eyes. She could relate. 

It took a minute for Smith to shake his self out of his memories and by then they still where clapping. A waters smile brightened his face and he awaken cleared his throat. “Well, uh…” Smith shrugged. “One more, ok lads, then it’s time to give the stage back, right?” The club cheered and River felt her chest warm. “Well…uh” Smith made a face, probably thinking about a song he could play, when suddenly his face brightened again. 

“ _ Peter _ ” Smiths grin was almost predatory. “Up here, know!” He commanded and the other professor actually complied. There was a hushed conversation, Peter got the microphone and then Smith stared to play again. It was absolutely ridiculous and brilliant at the same time, but somehow both Smith and Peter managed to perform David Bowie's  _ Magic Dance  _ with grace and after the second chorus the whole club was singing with them. 

River laughed and took the hands of her friend to get them away from the bar and onto the dance floor. None of them said a word, but they sang and danced and enjoyed the show. 

There is another teacher on the stage after Smith and Peter. They too perform David Bowie and after them other students take over again. Somewhere along the way River got enough alcohol into her that she got…well not tipsy, but a little bit looser. 

With a brilliant smile she chuffed her drink into Dave’s hand and declared. 

“I’m going up!” Her friends just stared at her. „I thought you wouldn’t sing?“ River snorted “I won’t” She declared and twisted out of Dave’s grab and she waggled with her eyebrows. 

„Can‘t I do some poetry?“„You HATE poetry!“ Lucy screamed after and River turned walking backwards through the crowd **.** „Yeah, but I really like plays!“ She shouted and ducked into the masses.

The guy, who organised the performers, asked her what she needed and River smiled cockily at him. 

“Just a microphone and the right light” He complied and River climbed onto the stage, as a single microphone was put up. The light focused on her and River couldn’t see anything. Back in Leadworth, back when River had been Mels she had taken German together with her parents. Rory wasn’t good at it, but he was better than Amy. Mels had loved German. 

Especially the plays, there was something in the German plays she never found in the English. Amy had been so bad at German that she needed to learn a part of a play, she would recite in the final class, so she would not fail. The teacher had chosen Goethe’s  _ Osterspaziergang  _ _ 1  _ and while Rory had helped Amy line for line, Mels had flipped through the book. Somehow she stopped at  _ Szene Nacht  _ _ 2  _ and it had burned into her brain. River still remembered every line. It had felt personal back then and in a way it was even more personal now. River smiled and took a deep breath and started reciting.

Habe nun, ach! Philosophie,

Juristerei und Medizin,

Und leider auch Theologie

Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn.

Da steh' ich nun, ich armer Tor,

Und bin so klug als wie zuvor!  3

River smiled and thought about Amy’s teasing and Rory's proud smile as she too presented a scene of Goethe’s Faustus to the class. River spoke the ancient word and remembered how she used to quote them all the time until Amy and Rory too knew them by heart. 

River spoke and remembered one of the first memories she had of her mother. THE first memory actually. Amy had recited from that scene just before she told her about her dad and it never really left her. River smiled into the microphone and ignored the silence of the club. She ignored the hundreds of eyes staring at her. River stood on the stage. Her eyes closed, a smile on her lips and recited Goethe’s word, that somehow no matter how dark they were, they gave her hope. 

Weh! steck ich in dem Kerker noch? Verfluchtes dumpfes Mauerloch,

Wo selbst das liebe Himmelslicht

Trüb durch gemalte Scheiben bricht! Beschränkt mit diesem Bücherhauf, den Würme nagen, Staub bedeckt, Den bis ans hohe Gewölb hinauf

Ein angeraucht Papier umsteckt;

Mit Gläsern, Büchsen rings umstellt,

Mit Instrumenten vollgepfropft,

Urväter Hausrat drein gestopft-

Das ist deine Welt! das heißt eine Welt! 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1- Osterspaziergang- Easter walk
> 
> 2-Szene Nacht- Scene night
> 
> 3- This is the actual text from Goethe’s Faustus. It could be translated like this: “Now I studied philosophy, law and medicine and sadly theology, with much endeavour. Here am I, poor fool and am as clever as before”
> 
> 4-Translated: “What! I’m still in this dungeon? Cursed gloomy hole (in the wall), where even the sweet heavens light shines moody through coloured windows! Restricted by those books eaten by worms. Covered in dust high until the ceiling. Circled with burned paper, jars and cans. Crammed with instruments and stuffed with household goods. That’s your world. Well that’s one world!” 
> 
> This scene from Faustus is one of my favorites and I think it does fit for River!


	4. Grieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grieve changes people.

Rivers' third semester started as peaceful as it could get. She was late for her first lecture, because the doctor couldn’t fly the TARDIS, but at least her parents could personally wish her a good new semester. River hummed as she walked through the hallways to get to the library. She stopped as she passed the physics part.

For an explanation, the physics faculty was the closest to the library and from the archaeology faculty the shortest way to the library was through the physics hallways. 

The whole hallway was filled with students, who looked really uncomfortable at the doors to Professor Smith's lecture hall. “What the hell?” River said and several heads turned in her direction. “Don’t you know?” One of the students asked, an empty smile in her face. “It's the week of the 22 of April!” River just starred and another student signed. “It’s the date Smith married his late wife.” River just starred. God, damn it, Smith was married? Or more he was widowed?

A third student turned and glared at the other two. “You are both idiots!” He growled and turned to River. 

“Look, Kiddo.” River raised an eyebrow but remained silent. “From what we know. Smith married his wife on the 22 of April some decades ago. He also lost his wife around this time. The whole week around the 22nd is a bloody minefield. He is moody and easy to piss of.” Rivers' eyebrows rose even higher. 

“Smith?” she asked with disbelief. “The guy wouldn’t hurt a fly!” Another student turned. “Well, normally not, your right, but well… Last year he blew up his lecture hall with an experiment. The year before he verbally tore a guy apart, after the guy tried to outsmart him with stupid questions.” The third student stepped in again. 

“If you believe the rumours he destroys his lecture hall every year, only to rebuild it on his own and repay the university for any permanent damage. He really gets moody and right now we try to figure out what kind of mood he is, but none of us wants to be the first in there.” River just stared at them all, by now many students listened in at the conversation. “You really mean it.” She finally said and many students nodded. “But, this is SMITH.” She said and gestured helpless. Really, River good job! She scolded herself. 

“Yeah, kiddo” the Third student said his face twisted in old pain. “but grieve changes people.” 

Something in River twitched and she straightened her back. “Well, then let’s see!” she mumbled and focused on the door. Several students tried to stop her, but River pushed them aside and as she reached the door, everyone backed down. 

“Cowards!” River mumbled and stepped into the hall. 

“Professor Smith?” She asked as the door closed behind her. The man’s head shot up so fast, that for a second River feared his neck would snap. His blue eyes focused on her and River stepped back into the door, as the intensity of it hit her. 

Smith looked pale and haunted, almost as if he just had seen a ghost. His hoodie was older than usual and there were holes. His curls are a mess and there was a hint of a beard on his face. His shoulders slumped and his hand gripped the paper too hard. He looked horrible. River starred and Smith starred back until he cleared his throat. 

“Yes Miss Song?” River shifted against the door, putting her curves more into focus and she smiled her most sinister smile. “I want to win a bet and I need your help.” Smith’s eyes never left her face. Smith's eyes never lost their pain and the haunted look, but his eyes narrowed. 

“The truth Miss Song!” He demanded, but there was no force behind his words. He sounded broken. River gave up her usual approach and smiled more honestly. “I mean it, I want to win a bet and I need your help.” She said and somehow Smith relaxed. “How?” Rivers chose the first thing she could think of and rattled down a complicated and long equation. “I say the answer is PI, but none of my friends believes me so we need somebody who can’t be bribed. We thought of you.” Smith starred a little longer and then simply said. “Your right.” River smiled. “Thank you Sir.” Before she could reach for the handle of the door, Smith called out for her. 

“Oh and Miss Song?” River turned again. “Tell those idiots to come in!” He didn’t even look up and something had changed again, he almost looked like he was in even more pain, than before. River left without a word.

The students stared at her as they closed the door behind her. “I think it is safe, just…” She glared at them all. “Don’t be idiots!” 

She turned to the library and promised herself that she would have a closer look at this.

Over the two days leading up to the 22nd of April River regularly slipped into classes Smith taught, and while she didn’t see it all the time, there was a certain tension around Smith's shoulders. It wasn’t easy to see, but then again, River was a trained psychopath, she could see a thing or two.

There was at least one explosion in every lesson. Most of the time it was just an experiment, but the fact was there. Smith tried very hard to find every possible reason to make an explosion. Maybe it was so he wouldn’t explode at a student, maybe it was so he could burn his anger. Maybe it was something else. 

River wasn’t sure, but she watched. 

It was rather easy to hide in the lecture hall. It was one of the biggest in the physics faculty. The trick was to find the right place in the crowd to become invisible. The front for obvious reasons wasn’t an option. Neither were the last three rows. The middle could work, but River knew, her hair was a death giveaway. So she got in through the entry in the back, about twenty meters about Smith. And then she sat down not quiet in the middle, but not on the sites either, just right there where nobody really looked at. No student looked strange at her, or questioned her being in that lecture, but River thought that was more Smith's fault. He really was moody. 

The first time River slipped into his class he was in a bad mood and growled at every student, made rude comments and just was a really terrible professor. All that until one girl started to cry. It was as if the whole hall just stopped. Smith starred at the girl, as she sobbed and buried his face in his hands. His sign was loud enough, that the whole hall could her it. 

“Look,” Smith said, his mouth still covered with his hands, but his eyes focused on the girl. Even his eyebrows, looked softer. “I didn’t mean that. It’s…it’s a rough week.” He signed again and turned, his hands were brushing helplessly through his hair. “Lecture is over!” Smith said after a moment and startled them all. 

“Just… leave please. You get the script and I will make sure to answer your questions. Just…leave” They did.

After that River didn’t get the time to sit in one of his classes until the evening. It was Smith's last lecture or it should have been. There was a big sign on the Doors saying in big bold letters: “Stay out, lecture cancelled” River did peek into the room, but everything was dark and silent so she turned. 

The second day was the same. Smith moody or outright angry until somebody got hurt, then he retreaded. Or he just blew something up.

The 22nd of April was a Thursday that year, so it was the Thursday when everything went to hell. If Smith was known for something, then that he wouldn’t take any bullshit, from no one. So most students and teachers didn’t even try, but there were the occasional idiot or two. The day it was an engineering professor, who wasn’t well liked. He made comments at students, especially female ones and it was said he did grab for them too. His wife was one of the secretaries and just had their first child. 

“Mr. Smith!” The guy next to her sunk a little lower in his seat. River snorted, nobody was dump enough to interrupt Smith mid sentence. Especially not in Smith’s own lecture. They made some small talk about intertwined engineering and physics, showing that Smith was better in both. It went well, more or less until the idiot couldn’t take another blow to his ego. River didn’t even understand what he said, only a name “Aina” but the whole lecture hall gasped in unison, before it got death silent. The other men grinned triumphantly at Smith, who stared at him blankly. 

“How’s your wife, Gordon?” The way Smith said it should have been warning enough for the other men, but he didn’t get it. “Oh she’s fine. With Elaine it’s all a little different, but it’s not like that stops me. After all, I have options.” 

Rivers' jaw actually dropped at that. Did that man just confess to cheating on his wife in front of a whole lecture hall? Her gaze flickered to Smith who had returned to his blackboard to write something down. “Is that so?” He asked without turning. His voice was even and cold. “Hmh,” Gordon said, shifting. “She does a good job looking after Elaine and she is back in her job rather fast.” This time Smith turned again. “Oh I would think so.” He said, his eyebrows did a think and looked rather aggressive. “After all Mary from the violin faculty is looking after both of them. It is rather cute!” Gordon’s face slipped. The smile became a shocked expression. Then he lost all colour to get rather red faced only to go white again. Without another word the man stormed off.

Into the silence, Smith turned to them and said. “I don’t care about the pudding brain, talk about him as much as you like. Destroy him, if you please. BUT if you let one word about Sasha and Mary slip, I will make sure you fail this class for two years in a row.” Maybe it was the treat, or the eyebrows, or the fact that none of them would do it anyway, but they all nodded in unison and Smith returned to his lecture.

When that particular lesson ended, coincidently it was Smith’s last for the day, River lingered. She turned as half of the students already left the room, to get something she had left behind on purpose. When the last student left the hall, she had put a pen in the door, to make sure it wouldn’t close completely. There still was a closing sound, but the door was still open. 

So River stayed hidden by the seats and the shadows. Peeking through the seats at Smith who was hunched over his desk. It took almost 15 minutes until he moved. His shoulders suddenly sacked, while his hands turned white. 

Then everything happened at once. He suddenly wiped his hands over the desk throwing everything on it to the ground. Everything that was loose, he grabbed and threw. He wasn’t screaming, but the sounds he made were just as heartbroken and angry. River starred wide eyed and horrified at this man, who just lost his cool. 

Her hand pressed over her mouth. He was crying. River realised after several minutes, as he stopped and just sat down. He was crying silent tears. His whole face was screwed with pain and his body was shaking. 

River felt a tear rolling down her cheek, but she couldn’t move. She wanted to go down to comfort the man, but she didn’t know why. She didn’t just do things like this, and she couldn’t understand why Smith's reaction got under her skin, but when Smith finally moved. River slipped out of the lecture hall and started to run. She avoided Smith for the whole Semester, because it scared her. Her reaction scared her so she stayed clear until her friends dragged her into his Christmas lecture, again.


	5. A library at night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Studying at night was peaceful, but sometimes studying alone just wasn't the right thing to do!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long. I fell into a trap that is called DuckTales and got out with a few ideas!   
> Aaaanyway… Here's a chapter for y'all, see you around when I wrote the next one!  
> Love Raven

Rivers fourth Semester was horrible. Not only did the Doctor continue to have really bad timing and got her in more trouble, than it was worth it. But her parents also had the tendency to always show up at the wrong moment. Really, River was pretty sure by now that at least Rory did it on purpose. River was sure her mum was standing hidden somewhere, watching River flirt and the Doctor blush. All the while chanting  _ “Kiss, kiss, kiss”  _ under her breath, if the sour glare her dad got every time he interrupted, was a clue. 

Oh River got her kisses and more, but only when her parents weren’t around. What River had so far failed to mention to her parents was that she slept in the Doctor's bedroom. The idiot had blushed and stuttered, but he had admitted that as long as he knew her it was like this. River had smiled and taken the hint. She didn’t regret it. The doctor was a hugger and with him curled around her sleeping was easy and dreamless. Well without nightmares. 

River smiled at her textbook and frowned as she realised that she probably looked like a lovesick fool. Damn it! The other reason why her fourth semester was so horrible was the new teacher they’ve got. The former professor had retired just as the last semester ended and now they had this new one, who thought to know better and acted like it. Well they didn’t know better, but they also corrected the finals of that semester and River really wanted to get an A. 

Besides the fourth semester was the one with the most workload and the most difficult finals. That meant she and her friends spent so much more time at the library than really necessary. River for her part had an unfair advantage, with her Time Lord brain, remembering things was easy, but it also was her greatest problem. She knew better than that professor, because she had seen those civilisations. She knew how they worked and what was part of their culture. So she used this knowledge. 

It got her more than once in trouble with that professor and River had gone back in time more than once to write her own sources. This was a tiring process and it took so much time. Besides, the vortex manipulator was terrible for her hair. So River was grumpy and really tried to not bud heads with that professor. Just for her own fragile sanity… and maybe to save a life.

With a sign River laid her head on the book pages and inhaled the soothing scent of old paper. In two days she would write her last exam. The doctor already promised her a vacation and River knew exactly where she would go. Their bedroom in the Tardis, in the Vortex. Just her and the Doctor without her parents, for several long weeks. River grinned and lifted her head. It was time to start reading these pages, not just to stare at them. 

“RIVER” She was on her feet in a split second, with her gun in her hands. She knew that tone of voice. As if to prove her point, the Doctor came in view, running and with her parents in tow. They were out of breath and sweaty. Still the Doctor's face lit up when he focused on her. “River!” Now he just sounded like a child, presented with their favourite candy. River was flattered. 

“Hi Honey, how are you?” He actually tried to do small talk. River grinned at him and was about to answer, when her father chimed in. “Doctor NOT the time to flirt with my daughter.” His half angry voice and the open claim of her made Rivers grin shift into a smile she had reserved for her dad. “Hi, daddy!” She said, the gun still pointing at the hallway they’ve come from. 

“Hello dear.” Her dad said kissing her forehead. “Nice to see you, how are your finals?” “Oh, I can’t talk to her, but you are allowed to do small talk?” The doctor was sulking behind River and she winked at him over her shoulder. “ Yes, Doctor, because this is your fault.” Amy said and kissed River's cheek. “Hello Sweetie.” She said and River smiled at her. “Sorry for interrupting, but well…” 

That was when the Sontarans stomped into the room and Rivers' smile grew impossible wide. “Oh” she said with glee. “You brought me targets.” The dad made a strangled sound. Amy told her which one to shoot first and the Doctor spluttered in the background. After that there was a lot of running and shooting. At one point the Doctor took her hand and got her into the Tardis and suddenly two weeks were gone, with some quality time in their bedroom, undisturbed. “Now  _ Miss Song _ '' Doctor said as they chased each other around the Tardis console. Her parents sat on the steps grinning at them “Where to next?” 

_ Miss Song? _

River grinned and opened her mind for the Tardis to see their destination.

_ Miss Song _

Her mother hummed pleasantly around her and River released the breaks.

_ RIVER _

Rivers' head flew up as she grabbed the hand around her wrist and twisted. There was a heavy ‘thud’ and a muffled curse, but River still needed to blink for several seconds to understand what had happened. 

She was in the Luna library and just had slammed Professor Smith onto the table. River stared at the Professor and he grinned back at her, a little bit pained. “Care to let me go?” He asked, his Scottish accent thick and River realised that she was still holding his hand in an iron grip. She let go as if the skin contact burned her. Smith stood up an his smile got a bit softer. “This is a first! Usually when I wake students they react a little bit more embarrassed.” He massaged his wrist and shoot his head. “I have to say I am impressed with your reaction, how many years did you train?” River blinked at him. 

”Sorry?”

“Martial Arts? A reaction like yours isn’t gained without training, so, how many years?” River smiled tightly at him. “As long as I can remember.” Smith nodded at her answer. He looked a little bit lost, but River was panicking. She fell asleep in the library, in an open position, without cover. How the hell did she manage this? “…Miss Song?” Her head snapped up and she could see Smiths worried look. “What?” “How long have you been here?” He asked. River closed her eyes and listened to her inner clock. “About ten hours” She said quietly. Smith’s mouth got thin. “It’s that time of the year again, right?” He asked with a frown. River frowned and stared at her professor. “Excuse me?” Smith grinned and pointed at her books. 

“Fourth semester archaeology, it used to be rather brutal, especially the finals.” River just blinked at him. “How the hell do you know that?” She asked before she was able to stop herself. Smith laughed at her face and sat down opposite to her. “Because of my wife.” Rivers eyes widened at that. 

***

After she had watched Smith lose it last semester she had tried to stay clean of him, but her friends had dragged her into the physics Christmas lecture again. This time it was overfilled. So much, it was canceled and held an hour later in the university’s biggest lecture hall. and Every seat was taken and even the stairs were filled with people. Not only students, but also other professors and university staff had been there. It had taken her a while, but River realised they were there because of her. They wanted proof that what had happened last years was true. River refused for a very long time to accept it until she had met Smith's eyes. 

He looked just as tired of the whole thing as she was and somehow they understood that without words. A mischievous smile had grown on her face while Smith's eyebrows somehow projected unadulterated glee. It somehow had escalated and nobody dared to stand up when the bell rung. It went so far, that the dean had showed up, not that that stopped them. They jumped from one topic to the next. Physics, engineering, art, history. Oh history was beautiful! Who new that reciting Shakespeare could be that sassy? On her way out of the hall Smith had held up a hand and River had given him a high five with a huge grin. 

After that it was somehow easier for them. They greeted each other with grin every time they meet in the hallways and sometimes just with an high five. It was hilarious, how scared people were of them. It wasn’t as if the where building a bomb or something.

River signed and looked at Smith. “Your wife studied archaeology?” She asked and Smith's smile got sickeningly sweet. He definitely looked like a lovesick fool. “She studied creative writing and blessed her, she wanted it to be accurate, so she adopted a grave robber and never let go of her. He chuckled at a memory and River sorted the new facts. “So you meet your wife at uni?” she asked and Smith's eyes focused back on her. “Nope!” He said popping the ‘p’. 

“Knew her since she was small.” River just blinked and rethought it again. “You studied together?” Smith nodded. “She learned how to write books. I learned physics.” River hummed and looked down at her books and notes. “You didn’t answer my question.” Smith said and River looked up again. “Hu?” “This time of the years again?” She just nodded. “The new professor is bad, but then again, the fourth semester is the most important one and well… I need to do good.” 

Smith said nothing just stared at her. His eyebrows did a thing again and somehow it looked as if they were thinking about something too. Suddenly he leaned forwards and with and single swipe he had all of her notes and books and sorted them in front of them. “What are you doing?” River asked a little bit to loud. Not that somebody would say something, they probably were the only ones in the library. Smith ignored her and grabbed one of her learn card’s “Most powerful empire that controlled earth?” River blinked and after a second answered. 

“That completely depends on the period. In the ancient time it was the roman’s. After that the Victorian Empire and then, until the late 27 th century there was nothing that counted as a real empire. Those following after weren’t on earth.” Smith grinned and turned the card. The only thing written under the question was: “Victoria” River looked at the card and up at the grin that Smith wore and back down. A small smile tugged at her lips. Smith wiggled with his eyebrows at her and River snorted. They continued this for several hours. Smith switched between her learning card’s, books and the exam questions from previous years. 

River talked and talked and explained things so animated, that after a while she stood up and started pacing and gesturing. Smiths just smiled at her the whole time and asked for specifications now and then. It wasn’t until he didn’t ask another question, that River stopped and turned to him. HE just sat there. Leaned back in the chair with his chin on his hand, grinning at her. River blinked at him and finally realised that his grin was  _ proud _ . He looked like he was proud of her. “What?” She stuttered. Only Rory looked at her like that. Maybe the Doctor too, if she was especially clever.

“We’re done” Smith said and pointed at the table. All of her books were closed. The exam questions had green checks behind them and the learn cards laid in a neat stack. “Oh” River blinked and slowly sat down. Smith still looked incredibly proud. 

“Everything was right.” He said and River smiled back. Smith pushed her stuff over the table back to her. “So Miss Song. It is well past midnight. How about you pack up and I walk you back to your dorm?” River grabbed her things and shook. “No need. I am a big girl, I can walk myself.” Smith snorted. “I know, I am asking, because I live in the building next to yours and didn’t wanted to look creepy when I followed you.” River looked at him with a puzzled gaze. 

“Don’t you own a house on Luna?” “I do, but it is on the other side of Luna and I like sleep.” River nodded. Teleportation on Luna wasn’t public and therefore expensive and the traffic was just nerve wrecking. “Well then Professor…” River grinned, remember something the Doctor had mentioned a few days ago. 

“Allons-y” 

Smith huffed and stood up. They didn’t talk as they walked. Smith hummed the melody of one of Beethoven’s symphonies and River looked up at the star’s enjoying the cool night air. They parted at the door to her dorm. Smith nodded at her and turned to go, when River called for him.  “Professor Smith?” 

He turned and River held up a hand. His smile was like the sun. He took several big steps in her direction and gave her a high five. 

“Good Night, Professor and thank you.” He saluted at her and River just laughed.


	6. Fire drill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👋 Hey!  
> So this story will be continued! I just didn’t have any inspiration to write it. That changed so I’m posting here again!  
> This is also one of my favourite chapters!  
> Have Fun  
> Raven

Living in a dorm had it’s good and bad sides. The parties were brilliant.  The noise River could hear through the thin walls not so much. But it was cheap and the first thing that was Rivers. 

Her parents had helped her choose the furniture. Mostly things from the Tardis, because mother dearest, refused to let River buy anything. She only told River that there was way too much things in all those rooms that just stood there. The Doctor had done a thing to her closed and also it was bigger on the inside. They had so much fun arranging everything and even more with cooking the first meal in Rivers small kitchen.

During the exam time the dorm was always quiet. It was an unspoken rule and nobody dared to go against it. If River believed the stories, the last time somebody ignored that rule was five years ago. The guy had played loud music for five nights in a row. From what River had heard he disappeared after picking a fight with a Teleporter and only showed up again, when he had failed all his exams. 

The most cruel thing about the Dorms was the fire drill. It was obnoxiously loud and for River, with her Time Lord DNA it was like somebody was screaming in her ear. The next thing about the Fire drill was the frequency. River knew for a fact, that it could kill at least seven species and bring several more to the ground. She had tried. 

Right now the fire drill it was blaring. River laid face down in her bed and was just breathing. In through the mouth, out through the nose. In and out. Again and again and again.  
It was the day, well night, of the last exam, literally. Today had been the last day any exam had been written and River was so fucking tired. Even after her learning session with Smith, she didn’t really sleep. So she had been awake for at least 70 hour’s. River was a light sleeper, mostly because of her training and every little sound could startle her awake. So when she went to bed about 20 minutes earlier, it had felt like heaven and she was so close to proper sleep that it physically hurt to hear the fire drill. 

In her left hand was the gun she always had underneath her pillow and with her right hand she was gripping the sheets of her bed. She really, really wanted to just stay where she was and ignore it all. It wasn’t like anyone would miss her. She also wanted to shoot someone, preferably the one who started this all. River was open for suggestions. 

In the end she took a deep breath and pressed her face deeper into the mattress, staying there for a long moment, before she pushed herself up. She grabbed her blanked and threw it around her shoulders like a poncho, to make sure that nobody would see her gun. Then she grabbed her keys and taped out of her flat. As River closed the door behind her, several people ran past her in panic and River just rolled her eyes. She locked her door and slowly made her way outside. The crowd was huge, but then again, the whole building counted around 600 flats of different sizes. Nobody did so much as to glance at her.  


Next to her in the crowd was a pair of students arguing and somewhere on Rivers' other side was a couple in nothing but a blanket they shared. River felt sorry for the girl. Still, she watched as drones and emergency robots swarmed a broken and burned window about twenty meters further down the building. In the distance she could see the police and firefighter lights, coming closer. River just stared her finger still in the trigger of her gun. 

Several Professors were walking through the crowd, calming students or were talking to the police. It was understandable, since the building next to the dorm was for Professors and rather close to the dorm too. Everyone was able to hear the fire drill. 

The first thing she saw of Professor Smith was his hair. Wild silver curls floating over the crowd. The next thing was how the crowd shifted around him. People staggered back to make room for him and he just grunted at them. River snorted as the crowd shifted enough, to let her have a closer look at Smith. There was a pair of shades crooked and half drowned in his hair. From the looks of it, he fell asleep with them on top of his head.  
River was pretty sure the silk robe originally belonged to a woman, but then again, she had several of the Doctors shirts in her closet. He was barefoot like most people, but his pyjama bottoms covered half of his feet. What River surprised the most was the fact that he wasn’t wearing a hoodie, but what looked like an old t-shirt. River nearly snorted out loud as she watched him getting closer. It was hilarious. Smith was still half asleep and with every step his whole upper body bobbed up and down. 

When Smith was about to pass the couple he suddenly stopped. River could see him blink several times and then turned his head. This time River snorted, loudly. He looked like an owl, with how he turned his head slowly in the direction of the couple. The girl blushed bright red and tried frantically to cover herself with the blanked. Her boyfriend tried the same. Smith just blinked at them both and then made a sound. He wiggled out of his robe and carefully drabbed it around the girls shoulders. She just starred with big eyes. 

“Want that back! Number C857” Smith grumbled and continued. River kept an eye on the girl, as she wiggled the robe first under blanked and then herself into the robe. 

With the other she followed Smith. It was a t-shirt he was wearing. It declared in big washed out letters: “Stop arguing, my wife is right!”  
Smith grumbled something as he passed her and River just grinned and held a hand up. Smith snorted sleepily and gave her a high five. Well, if you could call that a high five. It was more like touching each other's palms. Smith kept walking. She blinked at his back with bewilderment. She didn’t get it until he stopped behind the arguing pair of students. The last thing River heard from them was 

“You should have known better.” And “Too much, explosion…” Then Smith raised his hands and put them on the shoulders of the pair. 

Both of them jumped and then wend ridged. By now a large amount of people had noticed. Smith's voice was ruff from sleep and even more Scottish than usual. 

“This was the first time in 72 hours I got sleep, only to be woken after 90 minutes of sleep, you, my Dudes, better have a really good excuse“ River could hear one of them gulping. 

Seventy… seventy-two hours?” Smith nodded and hummed a sleepy “Hmmn”, before one of them could say something Smith bowed forwards sliding his arms around the shoulders of the students and then turned them around.  
“You are studying engineering, right?” He asked the boy to his left and turned to the girl to his right when he nodded. “Chemistry?” The girl nodded frantically and Smith nodded slower along. River really wished she had a camera. It was a picture for the gods. All three of them nodding, the students franticly and Smith still half asleep. Smith stopped and suddenly seemed to wake up when he noticed the crowd. 

He blinked for a second, then his eyebrows started. Most of the students around them turned again, River just snorted. Smith's glare turned in her direction, but lowered. River followed his gaze and realized that her blanked had moved and her gun was visible. She adjusted her blanket very fast and looked up again to meet Smith's gaze. His eyes danced with mirth and River could see the challenge in his eyebrows. She just signed and started walking. The last thing River heard before she was swallowed by the crowd was Smith's voice telling the two students about the Night Lab and how to use it. 

River returned straight to her bed. 


End file.
